Carrying the Banner
by neverplannedonsomeonelikeyou
Summary: Jack's girlfriend, Amelia, has gone to France for the first few weeks of school. He texts her nightly, but sometimes she blows him off for the beauty of France. What will happen when Jack meets David, a new student at his school? Updates every Friday.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Jack, you okay?"

Jacks head snaps up. Did he doze off again? "Yeah Crutchie, I'm okay. Spaced out I guess," He says with his signature Jack Kelly smile.

"Thinking of the girlfriend?" His best friend asked teasingly. Crutchie sat down next to Jack on the steps leading to the school building. "When does she come back from her trip to France?"

Jack thought a moment. "I think she's back on the tenth?" He said.

"September tenth?"

"October," Jack frowned. "We only get to talk at night, too, her mom wants her to 'experience the outside world'."

"You would make the same rule, Jackie boy," Crutchie said, lightly punching his adoptive brother's arm.

"I know, and I'm happy for her." He sighed. "I just wish I could see her."

Crutchie laughed. "Of course you do, but just think 'bout it! Shes gonna have all sorts of fun stories for you when she gets back!"

"Yeah, in a month and a half."

Crutchie sighed. "Yeah, in a month and a half, but you get to talk at night at least!"

" _Her_ nights." Jack sighed. "Why couldn't she do this earlier in the summer?"

"Because her birthday is at the start of school?"  
"It's just not fair, Crutch."

Crutchie laughed. "Sure it isn't, big man. You'll do it, though. Hey, class is boutta start. Help a crip out?" Crutchie extended his hand for Jack to help him to get up from the ground.

Jack stood up and grabbed Crutchie's hand, helping the younger boy up. He passed Crutchie his crutch.

"Math class." Crutchie sighed.

"Ah, don't stress about math. Davis just has you do your assignment from yesterday." Jack said, walking with Crutchie to his class, swapping information with his friend about the classes they have been to that the other hasn't yet.

Jack and Crutchie sat outside the school, waiting for their adoptive mother to come and pick them up. She ran the theater nearby and was normally a bit late. Today was no different. Medda Larkin always tried to be there on time, though she ended up about fifteen minutes late at the earliest.

The boys started making a game of it by making bets to see how late she would be. Once they think they've found a pattern, Medda always managed to throw them off their game by showing up early, or being an hour late and sending a friend to come and pick the boys up.

Today, Medda was only twenty minutes late. "Ha! I win today," Crutchie said.

"Ay, that's okay. I didn't say what I was playing for this time," Jack grinned, and helped his friend up off the stairs they sat on.

"Dirty, Jack Kelly," Crutchie said. "I oughta start paying more attention."

"You sure do." Jack started walking towards Medda's car, Crutchie in tow.

Medda smiled, seeing the two. She unlocked the car doors. The boys opened the doors, Jack sitting in front seat.

"Hey Medda," Jack said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Oh, you say that every day!" Medda said. "You do know, the car ride is my favorite part of the day. Tell me, how was school, boys?"

Crutchie began explaining how he was sure he turned in his History assignment, but he has a zero on it, and how he feels that teacher is out to get him. Jack and Medda listened intently. According to Crutchie, the teacher is so horrible, none of his classmates ever get good grades anyway.

"She seems to be out to get you!" Medda exclaimed.

"She is! She never liked me!" Crutchie said.

"Only one year left bud," Jack chimed in.

"Thank god."

The rest of the car ride went on like this. Finally, they got to their home. It was a fairly large, yellow home two stories high, with room for more than the three of them. On the outside, there were a ton of plants. Trees, bushes, flowers, you name it, they have it in their front yard, with a garden in the back as well. Medda paid some of the neighborhood boys good money to take care of the plants, and the fruit and vegetable garden out back. The house had a lot of windows, with the window frames painted white and had white columns in the front holding up a piece of the roof that overhung over the doorway.

The inside of the house was much less elegant. Medda liked to go crazy with the decoration. There was a wall in the living room that hung pride flags. The woman loved colors, and allowed Jack to paint on the walls. He did such a wonderful job and loved it so much. He would paint beautiful murals on any surface she allowed him to- which was about everywhere. She loved to flaunt his art and to tell everyone that her son did that. Medda also would slip a little extra into his allowance when he painted on the walls for her, or when he helped paint sets for the theatre.

The three entered the home, and everyone split off to do their own thing. Crutchie went to do some reading, Medda to practice for her next performance later in the day, and Jack to call his girlfriend, Amelia.

 _Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!_

 _Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!_

 _Drrrrrr-_ "Hello?"

"Amelia?" Jack asked, sitting down on his desk chair, kicking his feet up on the top of the desk.

"Hey, Jack."

"How's France?"  
"Umm... I mean, it's fine. Nothing special, though."

"Nothin special?" Jack exclaimed. "It's France! I've never been outta New York!" He threw his free hand around in the air as he spoke.

"Really?" Jack heard on the other line, sounding almost disgusted.

"I've told ya that before, Ame."

"Oh." The line fell dead a moment. "Anyways. Whats Jeremy up to?"

"Jeremy?" Jack asked.

"Jock Jeremy."

"Oh... I don't know, he wasn't at school today. Probably ran off with Kaitlyn for the day."

"What?"

"I said he pro-"

"No, don't repeat it, I heard you, idiot."

"Sorry, hun."

Silence from the other end.

"Well, I guess I better head off," Jack said, taking his legs off the desk and spinning in his chair.

"Whatever." And, just like that, Amelia hung up.

"Hows miss 'Queen of the World'?" Crutchie said and knocked on Jack's bedroom door, which was already partially open as is. With Jack's wave, Crutchie hobbled on over to his brother's bed and plopped down, setting his crutch behind him.

"She's bored of France," Jack said.

"Bored? Of France?"

"I know! Unbelievable, right?"

Crutchie sighed. "I don't get 'er. I don't get you for liking 'er."

"She's so perfect for me, though!" Jack exclaimed. "Beautiful, smart Amelia."

"You forgot 'bad news'."

"Bad news for any girl with a crush on good ol' Jackie boy," Jack said, holding two thumbs up, grinning.

"Believe me, there isn't any girl out there who'd fall for that," Crutchie said, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Jack.

"Yeah? And what do you have a girl would fall for?"

"Personality!"

"Oh, definitely got personality. Not a good one, though!" Jack teased.

"Oh shut up." Crutchie laughed. "What classes you got tomorrow?"

"Gym, History, and English," he explained.

"Wednesdays are easy for you. I've got Science, Math, English, Government, and History."

"Well, that's your fault for loading your schedule that way."

"Ay, shut up."

"Boys?" Medda called as she walked up the stairs, eventually ending in Jack's doorway. "I've got my next show in about an hour, I'll be heading up soon. Dinner is in the fridge; all you gotta do is heat it up. I'll be back late tonight."

Jack stood up to give Medda a hug. After, Medda walked over to Crutchie and gave him a hug where he was. "I'll see you boys tomorrow, alright?"

"See ya, Medda!"

"See you tomorrow!"

The older woman left, leaving the two boys home alone. "What time do you want to get dinner?" questioned Jack.

"Six?" Crutchie said. "I'm good whenever."

"Alright. Movie tonight? Or do you gotta do homework?" Jack asked.

"Got homework tonight. Gotta read some dumb book." Crutchie said. "Y'know, one of these days, you should do your homework, y'know, at home."

"C's get degrees my friend, and until I get a D, I won't stress whatsoever," Jack said, sitting back down on the bed.

"Yeah, whatever," Crutchie said and stood up. He made his way to the door. "I'll work on the book before dinner, and maybe I'll have time for other stuff after."

"Sounds good, my man. I'll be here," Jack said, standing again to head to his art desk. Crutchie left to go work on reading. Jack began doing some sort of cheesy art of him and Amelia to send her a picture of.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack was still trying to get used to his schedule. His first class on Wednesday was Gym. He hasn't had this class yet this year, seeing as there was no school Monday.

His last year schedule was a bit more full than this year's schedule. He had to retake his sophomore math class, along with trying to get all of his elective credits out of the way. He only needed three more. He decided to take gym since there's no real way to grade gym. Easy A.

Class started at nine. He had five minutes before class to change in the locker room. After changing into his gym clothes, he came into the gym and while he waited for the gym teacher to get class started, he chatted with a freshman.

After a bit, Mr. Conn blew a whistle. The teacher explained to them that they would just be doing open gym until next week, seeing as everyone was just going to be reorganizing their schedule till then. Mr. Conn grabbed a few basketballs and tossed them to random kids around the room.

The students started forming groups and messing around. Jack went with the freshman he talked to earlier and his friends. The teacher had pulled out some plastic basketball hoops. The group played around one of those, but mainly talked and joked around. After a few minutes, while Jack was not paying attention, he didn't hear another group of kids yells "Watch out!"

A basketball came flying towards his face, hitting him square in the nose. Jack stumbled back, holding his nose in his hand. He lifted his hand from his nose and saw blood.

A new senior this year ran up to him. "Oh my god, are you okay?" He asked, slightly panicked. "Oh my god, you're bleeding! Let's get you down to the offi-"

Jack waved him off. "I'm fine, just a bloody nose. I'll get a tissue and be fine."

" _Just_ a bloody nose? It's not _just_ a bloody nose! You are bleeding!" The boy exclaimed. "I'm taking you to the nurse."

"No, I'm fine, I promise!" Jack exclaimed, but the other man dragged him to the nurse's office. Jack just went with it, seeing as he could use some tissues anyways.

"Why are you freaking out so badly about this, dude?" Jack asked.

"Because you are _bleeding_ , and it was me who threw the ball anyways!" He said as he opened the door to the office. He stood by the counter, still holding Jack's arm, shaking just a bit.

The school secretary turned around from whoever she was talking to. "Tissues and ice packs are over there." The lady pointed to the other side of the office, where a small freezer sat. The other senior let go of Jack's arm, grabbed an ice pack for Jack, and began looking for the tissues, with no luck.

Jack walked over to the cupboards and grabbed a few tissues from an already open box.

"So what's your name?" Jack asked the other boy.

"Oh, uh, David," He said. "But you can call me Davey." He extended his hand to shake with Jack.

Jack checked his hand to make sure it didn't have any blood on it and then shook Davey's hand. "Jack."

"Sorry about throwing a basketball at your face," Davey said, looking down.

"Ay, don't sweat it," Jack said. "Was an accident, I'm sure."

"It was." He said, looking up again. "I guess we oughta head back to class?"

"Ah, teach ain't taking attendance," Jack explained as the two left the office. "Open gym, A.K.A. no real need to go back to class."

"I don't think I could get myself to skip," Davey said, looking almost embarrassed.

"That's all good, no pressure. I'll go back then, too, so you don't gotta walk in without the person you dragged at the wrist." Jack laughed.

"The guy who isn't even using the ice I dragged him out for." Davey cracked a smile.

Jack held the cold pack up to his face, on the side of the nose where the ball hit him. "This better?"

"It is." Davey laughed a bit.

Jack stopped outside the gym door. "You got any friends here yet? I've never seen you here before."

Davey looked away. "Um... No, not yet."

"Well, now you do," Jack said. "Unless you don't wanna, that's cool. If you wanna, my schedule is open for third and fourth hour. I'm assuming you got one of those open for lunch, you'd be crazy not to. But come sit with me and my friends."

"I'm not a charity case, Jack." Davey said, then back peddled his words, "I do appreciate the offer, but you don't have to."

"Nah, no charity. You just seem cool. I'll be towards the back of the cafeteria, probably."

Davey smiled. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem, Davey." Jack opened the gym door, and the two came in and finished gym class in their original groups.

Jack sat in the cafeteria during second hour, saving his friend's seats. He made sure to sit where he told Davey he would be. He pulled out his sketchbook and began sketching some characters from his favorite TV shows for the hour he spent alone.

"Yo, Jack!" He heard his friends voice.

Jack shut his sketchbook and put it back in his bag. He looked up to see a few of his friends walking towards them. "Hey boys, how was class?"

"Not bad, didn't do anything all hour," Albert said. "How was sitting around all day?"

"Hey, I had a class this morning!"

"Jack Kelly, going to class? Shocker." Anthony, also known as Race, laughed.

"Bet it was art," said Albert.

"It was gym," Jack defended himself. "Met a new senior. He threw a basketball at my face."

"Ah, how all good friendships are made," Elmer joked.

They all sat and talked for a few minutes, more friends coming to the table as time passed. After fifteen minutes, Jack saw Davey enter the cafeteria. Jack gave him a wave to join him at his table. David started walking over to his table, but changed his mind last second, leaving the cafeteria.

"Was that the basketball guy?" Crutchie asked Jack.

"Yeah, that's him," Jack explained.

"Pretty cute," Crutchie said, elbowing Jack.

"Ay, careful, loverboys got a girlfriend," Romeo said with a grin.

Jack stood up. "Imma go check on him." He excused himself from the table, taking his bag with him.

He searched around the school before spotting Davey in the commons area, sitting alone at a table.

"Hey, Davey," Jack said, walking over to the table. "You okay?"

"Oh, hey."

"You okay?" Jack asked. "You seemed a little weird in the cafeteria."

"Oh, yeah, I just wasn't sure if there would be enough room at the table and I didn't wanna pull you away from your friends, and so I just figured I would come in here," Davey explained. "I'm sorry if you were upset."

"Hey, it's all good. I just wanted to check on you," Jack said with a smile. He pulled one of the chairs out from the table Davey sat at. "Mind if I join you?"

"You don't have to, you probably wanna head back to your friends," Davey said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Nah, I wanna," Jack said as he sat down.

Davey smiled, looking into Jack's eyes. "Thanks."

"My pleasure."

The two talked for the full hour, talking about the school and similar topics. By the end, the two exchanged phone numbers. Jack was sad when he had to leave for class. He wanted to learn more about him, but sadly, history calls.

After school, Jack waited for Crutchie on the steps outside. His brother exited the building about five minutes after his class.

"Twenty minutes late," Crutchie said as he left the building.

"It's Wednesday, I'm gonna say thirty," Jack said. "Whoever is closer doesn't gotta do the dishes tonight?"

"Deal," Crutchie said, sitting down on the steps. "Make sure to rinse the plates before putting 'em in the washer."

"Keep dreaming, buddy." Jack laughed.

The two sat on the steps together, talking about this and that. Jack asked his brother how his classes went, and Crutchie explained how boring his teachers are, and how he hates how much homework they give when it's only the beginning of the year.

"So, I gotta tell you," Jack said. "Got hit in the face by a basketball."

"Cute girl?" Crutchie asked. "Or was it a cute boy who nailed ya?"

"This guy named David."

"Jacobs?" Crutchie asked. "New guy this year, tall, wore a hat today?"

"That's the one."

"That _is_ a cute boy," said Crutchie with a smile.

"I mean, he certainly does look nice," Jack said.

"Ame's gonna be jealous," Crutchie teased.

"Hey, there are tons of cute people at this school," Jack said.

"There sure are."

About a half hour late, Medda pulled into the school driveway.

"Make sure to rinse the dishes before putting them in the wash," Jack teased as he helped his brother up from the steps.

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Oh, I'm hilarious."

The boys hopped in the car and drove off with Medda.

Medda dropped the boys off at home but left quickly after for her performance she had lined up. She left them with some money to order pizza later on in the night.

At six, the pizza arrived. To make things easier for his brother, Jack brought Crutchie up a paper plate with a few slices of pizza on it. They ate in Crutchie's room and talked about various topics, ranging from serial killers to their tastes in music.

Jack spent the rest of the night in his room. He sent Amelia a text around seven, wondering if she was just out late.

At about 8:30, with still no response from Amelia, he texted Davey for fun.

Jack: _Hey, it's Jack from gym. Whatcha up to?_

About five minutes later, he got a response.

Davey: _Just finished with some reading. You?_

Jack: _Not much. Just wanted to say hey._

Davey: _Well, hey._

Jack: _Hey._

Davey: _Well, I do need to finish some homework._

Jack: _That's okay. See you tomorrow?_

Davey: _For sure._

After reading Davey's last response, Jack put his phone on the charger and went to bed for an early night.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack awoke the next day without so much as a text from Amelia. He frowned, and typed out a message to her, asking if she was alright. After thinking on it for a bit, he deleted it all and decided she was more than likely asleep.

He woke up a few hours earlier than he normally did, which made sense, since he also went to sleep four hours earlier than usual the night before. He decided he might as well work on his homework, just so he would have something to turn in and not fail the first assignment of the year.

He had his web design class first thing at school, so he decided he would get that done. It was very basic work; it was just reading through some information, and marking that it was read. The assignment explained the absolute essentials: how to start the lines of code, how to put in a paragraph, how to make a break, etc. He had taken this class last year, so he breezed through the assignment.

Five A.M.. Two hours until he had to get ready for school.

Jack decided to get a jump start. He went for a shower, then got dressed quickly. After doing so, he made breakfast for the family. Jack was a good cook, and when he had the time, he loved to make the other two's lives just a bit easier by taking care of breakfast.

He made some easy eggs and toast, then went upstairs to wake the others up while it was still warm. It was only a half hour early for when the family normally woke up.

He knocked on his brother's door and hollered, "Hey, breakfast is on the table when you wake up!" He did the same for Medda, who left her room immediately.

"Why are you up so early?" Medda asked. "You didn't have to make breakfast, this week is my week to do that."

"I don't mind," Jack said. "Woke up early and figured I might as well."

The two came down the stairs and began eating, while Medda talked about her performance last night. Crutchie came down the stairs when the other two were about halfway done with their meals.

"Brekkie is on the table," Jack said, pointing to Crutchie's spot at the table.

"Thanks, Jack," Crutchie said, leaning his crutch on the wall behind him. "When'd you wake up?"

"Ah, I don't know. Four-thirty?" He said, unsure. "Went to sleep early last night."

"Ever get to talk to Amelia?" Medda asked.

Jack shook his head. "No, I guess she went to bed early or somethin'."

Medda frowned. "She didn't text you at all yesterday?"

"She isn't very… reliable." Crutchie lowered his voice for the last word.

"Hey, I can still hear you." Jack sighed. "I mean, it's just one day. She was probably just busy or asleep." He stood up after saying that, then went to rinse his plate. "It happens."

"If you say so," Medda said. "You boys let me know when you are ready for school, I'll take you before I go to the theatre."

"Alright, I know it is a little bit early in the year, but we are starting our first project!" Ms. Jardine said. "We have a few things to go over. I've shared an entry doc with you all, and I will give you five minutes to read it all over."

Jack sighed, but opened the doc and read it over. Just skimming, he picked up that the project would be studying fear and how it affects people, and how it is used to influence people. He also picked up that they would be partnering with the AP human geography class, who would be coming into their class on Wednesdays and Fridays starting the following week. Once they come in, partners will be assigned.

Jack let out a groan when the teacher said it will be groups of two, one from the history class, and one from the human geography class. He didn't know anyone in AP Human Geography, and certainly didn't want to work with any of them.

The rest of the class was boring. It mainly went over the basic stuff the class needed to know for the project. It was going to be a more student-run project, so they would not get much instruction from the teachers.

 _This is gonna be the hell project, and it's only the beginning of the school year,_ Jack thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack hadn't had much to do the rest of the week. Most teachers took pity on the students and didn't want to make them do too much when it was just the start of the school year. It was now the weekend, and he made plans with his friends to go to the park. He wanted to introduce Davey to his other friends since they hadn't met him yet, minus a few who had him in their classes.

After saying that she would pick them up when she was finished at the theater, Medda dropped Jack and Crutchie off at the park earlier than the agreed time to meet up, so they went and set up the snacks and drinks they had on a community table at the park while they waited for the others.

"So, who'd you invite?" Crutchie asked. "Cute boy who hit you in the face with a basketball?"

"Ay, I know that sound in your voice," Jack said. "I'm with Amelia, don't be tryin' to set me up with anyone else."

"He _is_ cute though," Crutchie said, wiggling his eyebrows at Jack.

"Yeah, sure." Jack sighed and checked his phone. It was about fifteen minutes until the other boys were supposed to be there.

"Ay, is that David over there?" Crutchie asked, pointing to a figure on the other side of the park. As Crutchie pointed him out, David noticed them and started walking their direction.

"Must be," Jack said.

"You look a bit overdressed for the occasion," Jack said, noticing David's nicer clothing. "Do you want me to ask one of the boys to bring you a pair of clothes that we won't stress about gettin' dirty?"

"Oh, uh…" Davey paused for a bit. "Yeah, please. I wasn't sure what we were doing here." He blushed. "Sorry."

"It's all good," Crutchie said. "I'm Crutchie. We have English together."

"David," He held out his hand to Crutchie, getting a bit of a confused shake back.

Jack texted the other boys to see if anyone who hadn't left already could bring some shorts and a T-shirt for David. He got a text back from Albert saying he could, with a few of the other guys cracking jokes.

"Albie's bringin' you some clothes," Jack let David know.

"Thank you," David said. "Again, I'm sorry about that."

"It's all good!" Jack said. "Wouldn't want your stuff gettin' messy."

They all waited for the rest of the time for the rest of the boys to get there. In true Albert fashion, he showed up about 15 minutes late, but handed David the extra pair of clothes once he got there.

"Uh, where're the bathrooms here?" David asked.

"I'll walk ya there, they're kinda hidden," Jack said, earning a whistle from a few of the boys.

"Don't get up to any funny business in them bathrooms!" Race shouted, laughing. Jack rolled his eyes and lead David to the bathrooms.

"So where you from?" Jack asked him as they walked.

"Ohio," he said. "Columbus. My dad got a job offer here, though, so we picked up and moved."

"What's it like in Ohio?" Jack asked.

"Less busy, that's for sure." He laughed a bit. "It's really weird here, in Manhattan."

"How so?" Jack asked. "Is it the accent?"

"Well, that too, I guess. But it's just so... Much." He said. "I mean, I lived in the capital of Ohio. But this is a lot for me."

"I guess," Jack said. "I've lived here my whole life, and don't really travel."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I like it here. It's home."

The two stopped as they got to the bathrooms. "I'll wait out here for you," Jack said.

"Thanks."

David went in and changed as quickly as he could. As he exited, he said, with a hint of fear, "There's a spider in there."

"Want me to kill it for ya?" Jack joked.

"Maybe?"

Jack stood still a second. "Oh, uh, I was jokin'," He said with a nervous laugh.

"You scared of spiders too?" David asked.

"Very," Jack said. "Uh, anyway, lets head back to the guys. You can stick your other clothes in my bag."

"Thanks, Jack." David smiled at him. "Not just for that, but thanks for including me."

Jack mirrored his smile. "Anytime, bud."

They walked back to the other boys. It was about seven thirty, and the sun was already starting to set.

The boys made it back to the others, who, of course, were already beginning the games. They sat in a misshapen circle, with one of the boy's flip-flops in the center.

"Ey, Jack! David! We playin' a- hey what's the name of this game?" Mike asked.

"Paranoia," Mush said. "Basically, ya sit in the circle, and whoever starts it whispers a question in the person to their right's ear. The questions are limited to the people in the circle, you can't answer with anyone who isn't here. Whoever was asked the question says the answer out loud, then tossed the flip-flop in the center. If it lands face up, the question is said out loud. If it lands face down, you don't say the question, rinse and repeat."

Jack and David sat down in the openings in the circle, a fair distance apart. "Alright, who starts?" Jack asked.

"We was gonna have Romeo boy start us off," Albert said.

Romeo thought a moment, then leaned and asked Crutchie a question in his ear. Crutchie, without skipping a beat said Race's name. Romeo moved to grab the flip-flop to let Crutchie toss it in the air. It landed face up.

"Question was, 'who do you feel is most likely to be a murderer in his future?'" Romeo said, snickering.

"Gee, I'm touched," Race said.

Next, it was Crutchie's turn to ask Elmer. Elmer paused. "Probably Buttons?" He threw the sandal in the air, but it landed face down.

"That's why it's called Paranoia," Mush said. "Now we don't getta know the question."

They continued playing the game for a while. On David's first question from Sniper, he answered with an "I don't know", and though it was against the rules, they allowed it seeing as he didn't really know many of the other boys very well. It was Sniper's second turn asking him a question. He held his hand in front of David's ear as he asked the question. David blushed after hearing the question, but then said Jack's name. David tossed the flip-flop in the air, and it landed face down. David avoided Jack's eyes for the rest of the game.

The boys played for another few rounds, taking them to eight o'clock. "Alright, alright," Jack stood up. "As fun as Paranoia is, we got more games, and some of the boys gotta head in two hours. I figured since we don't know Davey here too well, we should play two truths and a lie."

"Alright. Who starts?" Specs asked.

"I can," Henry said. "I was voted funniest in my middle school, I write poetry, and I can hold my breath underwater for two minutes straight." He folded his arms and grinned smugly.

"Definitely the first one, you only know knock-knock jokes," Buttons said, the other boys laughed.

"So what? Knock knock jokes can be funny!" Henry frowned. "Alright, who's next?"

"I'll go," David said. "Ah… I can fit fifty hair ties in my hair, I hate mints, and until I moved, I shared a bedroom with my brother."

"The bedroom?" Race asked.

David shook his head. "Hair ties. I can fit forty eight, though."

"Is that a challenge to get fifty in your hair?" Jack asked.

"Uh, no, it isn't. I prefer not having all my hair pulled out." David said. The group laughed.

"I'll go now," Specs said. "I did singing lessons as soon as I could speak to when I was nine, I won a hot dog eating contest, and I once had to go to the hospital because I shoved something up my nose and we couldn't get it out."

"Hotdog contest, that one was the least specific," David said.

"Ay, using your brain is cheatin'!" Specs said.

"Is that the rule now? You change the rules every time someone guesses your lie," Mike

said.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do n-"

"Ay, stop fightin'. Gonna scare off the new guy," Crutchie said.

"Yeah, don't scare 'im off, he's got my clothes," Albert joked.

The group kept playing, but it got to a point where they had a hard time coming up with things to say for the game, so they decided to move on to the last game of the night: truth or dare.

"It isn't a group hangout if you don't play some classic truth or dare," Jack said. "Ground rules, no darin' others to do anything sexual, nothing they could end up in the hospital for, yadda yadda yadda. We don't want any more broken bones and angry families, understood?"

Most boys nodded in agreement while the other cracked jokes about the time Elmer was dared to climb up a tree and yell some sort of weird phrase at the top and had fallen.

"I don't think I want to know why there are those rules," David said with a sort of half laugh.

"Well, that's for the best," Jack said. "Anyways, I'll start. Truth or dare, Davey?"

David thought a moment. "Ah... Truth."

"Oh, uh… Someone gimme ideas," Jack said. Elmer moved around and whispered in his ear. "That's borderline sexual, Elmer," Jack said, the others laughed. Elmer whispered again in his ear. Jack sighed. "What's the strangest dream you have ever had?"

"Uh, well," David blushed. "Y'know those dreams where you are in public in your underwear? One of those, but my best friend was Luigi and he-"

"Luigi?"

"Yeah, and he took me to his basement and we played Mario games."

"Still in your underwear?" Mike asked.

"Mmhm." David nodded. "Anyways… Uh... Mush, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Ah, I dare you to… hop in the garbage."

"That's it?" Mush asked. "Uh… Alright." He popped up from the ground, and jogged to the park dumpster, hopped in, then jumped back out quickly. He ran back, only smelling a little bit worse than before.

"Alrighty, boys... Finch, truth or dare?" Mush asked.

"Dare. Gimme a good one." He said, standing up.

"I dare you to stay sitting, no movin' around for the rest of the game," Mush grinned.

"Ay, that's no fair!" Finch said, but slowly sat down and crossed his arms. "Jack, truth or dare?"

"Well, seein' as it's you askin'," Jack said, "I'm gonna go with truth."

Right as Jack finished the sentence, Medda pulled up in her silver van and honked on the horn. She rolled down the window. "Hey, boys, who needs a ride home?"

Some groaned since they hadn't gotten too far with the game, But a few of the boys raised their hands and stood up.

"Albert?" David asked. "Do you want your clothes back tonight?"

"Just bring 'em tomorrow, it'll be easier that way," Albert said, as he ran to the van with the others who were getting a ride from Medda.

Jack held a finger up, indicating he needed a moment before he hopped in the van. "Hey, Davey?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for comin'," He said. "I know the boys are kinda a lot sometimes, but they mean well."

"Thanks for inviting me, Jack," David said. "I don't normally get invited out to places with friends, so this was really nice." He smiled.

"You're always welcome to come hang out with us at school, Davey boy," Jack said. "Hey, real quick, I know I shouldn't ask ya since it defeats part of the game, but... When we played Paranoia and you said my name, what was the question?"

David paused. "Uh… Well… Hey, thanks again for inviting me. These games were a lot of fun. Your friends are fun."

" _Our_ friends, Davey," Jack said. "You guys all hit it off really well."

"Thanks, Jack." David smiled. "Um… Is it okay if I hug you?"

Jack nodded and pulled David in for a hug. Jack noticed a soft smell of vanilla on David. After a moment, Medda honked the car horn. "Come on, Jack! Gotta get going!" Medda hollered out the car window.

The two separated. "Guess that's my cue." Jack laughed. "See ya tomorrow, Davey."

"See you tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

It was Wednesday. Jack had gone through all of his classes, though nothing eventful happened. His history class just started. He looked around and noticed the class seemed to have doubled. He realized that it was the first day the AP human geography class was joining them for their project about fear. Jack looked around for anybody he recognized from the other class, and he didn't find anyone. He was a few minutes early, though, so some of the AP human geography students wouldn't be there yet.

The teachers told the class to research their need to knows for the project as they discussed what all they wanted to do.

A few minutes after the class had started, the door opened as a few more of the AP human geography students came in. Jack looked up again to see if he recognized any and noticed David was with the group of students, but didn't seem to really know any of them, as he was more separated from them. Jack waved at David, catching his eyes.

David, after seeing him wave, quickly walked towards Jack. "Is this seat taken?" He asked, motioning to the empty seat next to Jack's at the table.

"Yeah, by you," Jack said with a chuckle. "Have a seat. We ain't doin' much, just researching our need to knows that we listed on Monday."

David thanked him as he sat down. "So… My teacher said we get to choose our groups."

"Ah, she did? Mine hasn't said anythin' about it." Jack leaned back in his chair. "Got someone you want to partner with?"

David scratched the back of his neck. "Well... Do you?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah,"

"Oh." David looked down at the table. "Who? If you don't mind me asking, that is."  
"Well, none other than the David Jacobs," Jack said.

"I- uh- oh I, uh," David sputtered, his face red. "Thanks." David pulled his laptop out and pulled up his need to knows. He started reading articles on how fear affects humans and how it works.

Jack would normally goof off, but seeing how ready David was to start on his research, Jack decided he would take a look at a few articles. He looked at articles on how fear is used to persuade people into doing things they may not have done otherwise.

It really was an interesting topic. Jack was already learning a lot about how it can be used to manipulate people. He never thought about it before, but it definitely was something you see a lot. He wrote down his findings in a google doc. He would surprise his friends by actually having something to share during class discussions.

The teachers spent the rest of class discussing the project, but informed them all to keep on researching their need to knows so they could be as prepared as possible. They also informed them that they needed to email them with who their partner is so they could make sure everyone had a partner by the end of class on Friday. Immediately, Jack and David emailed both teachers saying that they had chosen each other as partners.

"So, David," Jack said. "Any ideas for a final product?"

"I was thinking a skit," David said. "Or informational posters; those are a much easier route. But skits are more fun. Unless you don't like acting, then we could do something else, but... Yeah."

"We should wait to find out the parameters for the final product, but I like both those ideas," Jack said with a smile. "We got plenty of time to come up with ideas, too. Was just curious."

"Well… Yeah." David said. "I like to stay ahead in my classes... So I'm going to try and finish all my research that I need for my current need to knows before next Wednesday."

"Oh, uh.." Jack paused. "Do you want me to do the same?"

"If you can. You don't have to, but it makes things a lot easier." David fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "You don't have to."

"Nah, easy," Jack said. "Anything that makes things easier, I'm down for."

David smiled. "Thanks, Jack. I know it might be a lot to ask, so I appreciate it."

"No problem."

Jack had tried his hardest to get his research done as quickly as possible, but he had twenty-two need to knows and it was only the start of the project. Normally, he would barely research what he needed to and just blow it off till the end of the project. He wasn't sure why he cared so much about this project. Maybe he didn't want to let David down, or maybe he was actually interested in the topic. Either way, he got to work right as he got home, surprising both Medda and Crutchie.

"Hey Jack, mom already left," Crutchie told him. "She didn't wanna bug you while you were workin' so hard."

Jack closed his laptop. "Did we get plans for dinner?"

"Yeah, she came home and cooked a casserole during the break she has before her two o'clock show," Crutchie said. "Just has to be microwaved." He walked into Jack's room and sat down on his bed. "Why're you already stressin' about school? I thought you didn't care till you got a D."

"I promised Dave I'd work on the need to knows for history and have 'em done by class on Wednesday," Jack explained. He swiveled in his chair to face his brother.

"Oh ho, David? As in, David Jacobs is your partner for history?" Crutchie lowered his voice. "Someone got a crush?"

"God's sake, Crutch. He's just a friend," Jack said. "And why do you keep bringing this stuff up? We are _only_ friends, that's it, and that's all it will be!"

"Hey, no need for yellin'," Crutchie said. "I didn't know it bugged ya so much."

"Well, it does."

The boys sat silently for a moment. "Well," Crutchie said, standing up. "I guess I better leave you alone."

"No, Crutch, it's okay," Jack said, also standing. "I'm sorry for raisin' my voice."

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it," Crutchie said. "It's nothin'." He started walking for the door.

Jack set his hand on his shoulder just as he was about to exit. "Hey, it isn't nothin'. And I'm sorry, really." Jack gave his brother a quick hug. "You wanna take a look at your need to knows so we can knock out the research together?"

Crutchie smiled. "Yeah, lemme run and grab my laptop."

A few weeks had passed. Every night, Jack had always tried to get in touch with Amelia. Some nights, she would respond. Others, she wouldn't reply, without so much as a message in the morning either. The nights she didn't respond were the nights Jack had the most issues sleeping. He always worried something may have happened to Amelia.

Jack sat at his desk, awaiting a response from his girlfriend. He texted her a bit early, so he tried to not stress about her response just yet.

He waited a few hours, doing sketches in his artbook while time passed. At about one in the morning, he decided she wasn't going to respond, so he went to set his phone on the charger. Before going to sleep, he checked his phone. Still no response.

He had managed to get a few hours of sleep, but not much. He woke up around six in the morning, a half hour before his alarm was supposed to ring. He rolled out of bed and got ready for the day quickly, then grabbed his things and headed downstairs to the living room.

Medda was already awake. She normally woke up fairly early to make breakfast for the boys and to make sure she was awake enough to drive them to school, then be on her way to the theatre. Medda and Jack talked about how things are going in the theatre. She brought up that she needed a new backdrop for the next set of shows they were doing, and she wanted Jack to do it for her. He agreed, and they decided they would discuss more another time.

Crutchie came down the stairs and the three ate breakfast together. Before heading out the door to go to school, Jack sent Amelia another text asking if she was okay.

Jack's school day was very normal. He didn't have much work he was supposed to do, so he got to goof off with his friends for most of the day. David was now hanging out with all of Jack's friends. David had originally been shy to join with them, but he slowly started sitting and eating lunches with them in the commons area. At this point, he was just as much a part of the group as any of them.

Jack and David spent some of their shared free time working on their project, though they didn't have much to do. They finished everything quickly after it was all assigned, and even worked ahead when given the chance.

When Jack got home, he checked his phone to see a text from Amelia.

Amelia: _We should break up. You're too overbearing, and obviously don't trust me on my own._


	6. Chapter 6

After reading the text, Jack had shut everyone out for a while. He stayed home from school and only came out of his room for food and bathroom breaks. He had gotten texts from his friends, including David, but didn't reply.

It was a rough week for everyone in the house. Medda and Crutchie had tried to talk with Jack every day after the breakup, doing things like knocking on his door, sending him texts, talking to him on the rare occasion he left his bedroom, but there was no luck for anyone with him.

It had been a week and a half since the breakup, and Jack was starting to recover. It was Saturday now. Jack walked down the stairs to the kitchen, and was greeted by Crutchie.

"Hey, Jack," Crutchie said softly. "How are you doing?"

Jack shrugged. "'Betcha you can guess." He opened a cabinet, pulled out a box of crackers, and sat at the table.

The two sat silently for a moment. After locking himself in his room for a week and a half, Jack wanted to speak, but felt there wasn't anything to talk about.

"Y'know, Jack," Crutchie started, "The guys miss you. They been wonderin' how you been."

"Do they know?" Jack asked. "Like, about Amelia?"

Crutchie nodded. "Whole school does. You know her."

Jack nodded and sighed. "'Course. Why _wouldn't_ she have spread it all over, it's Amelia."

"You know about Estella?"

"Estella?"

"She posted a picture on her Instagram a few days ago," Crutchie said, pulling out his phone. He took a moment to find the post. "Caption was, ' _Goodbye to the sweetest treasure in all of France! I will miss you dearly!'_ "

"Lemme see." Jack reached his hand across the table. Crutchie put his phone in his hand.

Jack stared at the post in disbelief. It had a photo of Amelia and some other girl, smiling at the camera in the first post. The photos looked more or less the same as he flicked through them, all but the last photo. The last one showed Amelia and the other girl kissing.

"She already moved on," Jack said in disbelief. He passed the phone back to his brother. He stared at his hands, clenching them into fists.

"Jack?" Crutchie asked. "Are you alright?"

Jack stood up, shoved his chair under the table, and stomped his way upstairs.

Jack had time to cool off. He made it to school every day of the week so far, but he avoided his friends when he could. He asked Crutchie to let the others know that he wanted some time to himself, so they backed off most the time. They all were very worried about him, though.

Today was a Wednesday, so it was a workday in his history class. It was also a day that he would be meeting with David to work on their project about fear.

David always arrived a couple minutes late, since the class he had before tended to keep him late. But this time, he was there way before class was supposed to start.

Jack entered the classroom, surprised to see David already there. He walked to the table David had claimed. He set his bag down on the ground next to his chair and sat down.

"Hey," David said. "How're you holding up?"

Jack shrugged. He kicked his feet up on the table. "You're here early."

"Last class was canceled," David said. "Teachers had a meeting."

"Ah." Jack pulled his phone out and started playing games, and David worked on his schoolwork.

It took about fifteen minutes for class to start. They were given no instructions, seeing as it was a workday. Since it was almost the end of the project, they had a lot to work on in a short period of time.

"So, Jack." David fidgeted with his hands. "Were you able to work on anything for the project? I mean, it's okay if not, but I just… Yeah."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, put it all in the task management log. Worked ahead."

"That's unlike you," David said.

"I took time off school and left you alone in class, so I figured I'd work ahead," Jack shrugged. "Not a big deal."

David nodded. "So, we are almost done, then. I'll check what we need to do next." He searched for their task management log. "All we have to do now is… Did you work on the set?"

"Yeah, Medda said I can use anything from the theatre, and I have the sketch for the backdrop done too. Just gotta paint," Jack said. "Want pictures? I got a few." He pulled his phone out and started showing him the photos of the set for their skit. Most of the work was for the set since both David and Jack had done plays. The teachers wanted to see more of the technical side, so Jack was making the set, while David was writing the script, finding actors, and doing anything technology related.

"This looks amazing, Jack," David said while looking at the set photos. "I like that one a lot. This is amazing," he said, pointing out his favorite backdrop.

"Ay, take it easy. Just a bunch of trees." Jack said, putting his phone away in his pocket.

"Really good trees," David said. "I like it, it'll be perfect for the second scene. Oh, and I finished the script."

"Is it shared with me?" Jack asked, pulling his laptop out and turning it on.  
"Yeah, it is. Sent last week," David said.

Jack pulled open the script. He tried reading, but thoughts of Amelia filled his mind instead. She still had his sweater. Was he going to get it back? Did he even _want_ it back after the breakup? Was she talking about him behind his back? Why did she move on so quickly? These thoughts swirled around his head as he struggled to read the script.

"Jack? Are you alright?" David tapped Jack's shoulder.

He jumped. "Oh, uh, yeah." He said, startled. "Just uh, a little distracted."

"The breakup?"

"'Scuse you?"

"Oh, ah." David's face went red. "Were you thinking about Amelia?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, it's about Amelia."

"Oh." David paused. He went back to his laptop, typing quickly.

"What're you doin'?" Jack asked.

"Hold on," David said. He took a deep breath. "What do you call a fake noodle?"

"I don't know, what?"

"An impasta. Want to hear a joke about paper?"

"David, what are you doing? We have work to do," Jack pointed out.

"We get ahead for a reason," David said. "This is more important anyway. I won't tell

that joke though, it's tearable."

Jack snickered. "That one was bad."

"Why did the coffee file a police report? It got mugged." He paused a moment, looking uncertain. "Do you want to hear more?"

"Yeah, actually," Jack said.

David smiled. "Why don't skeletons go trick or treating?"

"I don't know, Dave. Why don't they?"

"They have no body to go with."

Jack laughed. "Ay, I got one. Two fish are in a tank. One fish asks the other, 'do you know how to drive this thing'?"

David groaned. "Oh, that's my dad's favorite."

"Yeah? I may get along with your dad, I love that one," Jack explained.

"Don't even get me started on the other ones he does. They're the worst," David said. Jack snickered in response.

"You feeling better?" David asked.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Thanks, Dave."

The two spent the rest of class chatting since they were so far ahead anyway. Jack left class feeling better than he had since the breakup.


End file.
